MIRACLES
MIRACLE OF THE FISH
DR. JIM DIXON
JOHN 21:1-25
JULY 3, 1983
They were disoriented. They were confused. They were the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. Their Lord had experienced death by crucifixion, and they knew it. He had been buried in a rich man’s grave in the garden tomb of Joseph of Arimathea and they knew it. And they knew that he had risen. They had the testimony of Mary who had spoken to the angel and the Lord himself had appeared to them twice behind the closed doors in the upper room. The Lord had said to them “Peace be with you.” He was alive and they knew it, but they had very little peace. Because he was not with them now, they did not know if they would ever see him again. They did not understand what they were to do with the remainder of their time on earth, with the remainder of their lives. They didn’t understand his call or his mission for them. They were confused. They were by the sea of Galilee. There was Simon Peter, Thomas, called the twin, Nathaniel of Cana of Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, James and John, and two other disciples and Peter said to them “I’m going fishing.” The disciple said “We’ll go with you” so they went, and they got into the boat. It was night. They fished all night, and they caught nothing.
In the morning as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach resurrected. They did not know it was Jesus and he called out to them, and he said “Children, do you have any fish.” They answered no, he said, “Then cast your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some” and so they did. They were not able to haul the net in for the great quantity of fish, 153 in number and though they were so large the net did not break. When Peter saw it was the Lord, he dove into the sea, and he swam to shore. The other disciples followed in the boat. When they got there by the shore of the sea of Galilee, they sat down together, and they had breakfast. It was at that time that our Lord Jesus began to explain to Peter and the disciples what they should do with the rest of their lives. It was at that time that Jesus began to share with Peter and the rest of the disciples something of his purpose and something of his mission for them.
Jesus had three statements that he made to Peter, and he makes the same three statements to each and every one of us today. First of all, Jesus said to Peter “Follow me.” It was not the first time that Peter had heard those words. Three years earlier Jesus came to him by the sea of Galilee, and he said follow me and the fisherman left the nets, and he left his boats, he left his business and for three years Peter began to follow Jesus. He went with Jesus through all the villages and towns of Galilee and Judea. Throughout Palestine, he followed Christ. He saw Christ’s wisdom. He heard the Sermon on the Mount. He heard the Olivet discourse. He saw Christ’s compassion. He saw Christ heal the sick, the blind, the deaf, the dumb, the lame, the cripple. He saw Christ hold little children in his arms. He saw Jesus’ power. He saw Christ throughout those three years of ministry. Three times he saw Christ raise the dead. He saw Christ transfigured on the holy mountain in all of his celestial glory. And finally at the close of those three years, Peter saw his Lord captured in the garden of Gethsemane by Roman soldiers. He had drawn his sword and he had tried to defend his Lord. He had cut off, you remember, the ear of the servant of the high priest, a man named Malcus, but Jesus rebuked Peter. He had said to Peter, “Do you not know that I could at once summon 12 legions of angels?” and Jesus had gone willingly with the Roman soldiers. He had gone willingly to the cross and Peter had not understood that. And during the trial, Peter denied Christ three times period but now Christ was alive. He was risen and he was with him by the shore of the sea of Galilee and Jesus wanted Peter to know what his charge was for him, his command to him, his instruction for him now at that time was the same as he had given three years before. Jesus said to him, “Follow me” and Peter did follow Jesus throughout all the years of his life
Jesus ascended, went into heaven, was seated at the right hand of the Father, but by his spirit, he led Peter and Peter followed. Peter became the head of the Jerusalem church, and he began a ministry primarily to Jews, but then as you recall, Peter went to Joppa by the Mediterranean Sea and when he was at the home of Simon the Tanner, he had a vision where the resurrected Christ again appeared to him and told him that he was no longer to regard the gentiles as unclean. And so, Peter began to minister not only to Jews, but he began to minister to gentiles, and he began to travel on missionary journeys for Christ’s sake. He would travel with his wife, and they went to Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia. They went to Asia minor traveling for Jesus Christ, spreading the good news of salvation
According to church tradition, Peter became the Bishop of Antioch and later the Spirit of Christ led Peter to Rome. He became the head of the Christian fellowship there, the head of the Roman church. It is sad that Peter’s wife was executed by Nero and that Peter’s final words to her were simply remember the Lord. A few years after that, Peter himself died, crucified upside down. He did not feel worthy to die in the same manner of his Lord. He was crucified in the same region that today we call the basilica of Saint Peters where that structure sets. Peter followed Christ on this earth, and he now lives with Christ in heaven. He followed Christ no matter what period he had made that commitment and Jesus Christ says the same to each and every one of us today. He says follow me. No matter what, he says follow me.
There are many pied pipers in the world today who would lead people astray. Robert Browning in his 19th century poem made famous the story of the pied piper of Hamlin, but the story of the pied piper is actually based on an ancient legend from the 13th century. We’re told that in the little German village of Hamlin, the homes, the houses were infested with rats. They could not get rid of them but there was a man there who came into the town, and he dressed in clothing of many colors, and he played a magical pipe. He said to the people in the town, he said I will rip this town of all of its rats, all of its rodents if you will pay me when I’ve done it. So, the leaders of the town agreed that if he could rid the town of all of the rats, they would pay him, so he went out into the street and he began to play his magical pipe and all the rats came from all the homes and all the houses and they gathered in the middle of the street, and he began to March down the street and those rats followed him. The pied piper went to the Bosser river, and he went into the water and the rats followed him and they all drowned. And then he returned to the village of Hamlin, and he asked for his money, but the leaders of the village refused to pay him. They refused to pay the piper and so he went out into the streets once again. He began to play his magic pipe and this time all the children of the town came out of their homes and out of their houses and they gathered in the street behind him, and he began to march. They followed him and those children were never seen again. According to some stories relating to the legend, he took the children into Coppin hill into the caves of that hill. He sealed the caves, and those children were forever lost.
Throughout history there have been many pied pipers. Obvious historical examples such as Adolf Hitler led many astray. Obvious religious examples such as Jim Jones and the People’s Temple. He led many astray there is the Antichrist who is to come and there is of course Satan who is certainly the greatest pied piper of all as he would deceive even the elect if he were able. Most people in this world are simply led astray by the world itself. They followed the ways of the world and they become lost. The Bible says do not love the world or the things that are in the world, for if anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world and the world passes away and the desires of it but he who does the will of God abides forever. And this is the will of God, that we follow our Lord Jesus Christ, that we believe in him as Lord and savior of life and that we follow him. He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.” There’s only one man worthy of your allegiance, one cause worthy of your devotion. That man is Jesus Christ. That cause is the Kingdom of Christ, and he calls us to follow him
If you’re a Christian in this sanctuary today, you’re a person who’s made that decision to follow Christ. You had a moment in your life when you said Lord Jesus, come into my life. I went to live for you, and you decided to follow him, through all the valleys and the mountain tops of life come what may you decide to follow him sometimes it’s costly. Peter knew that and Christ wanted him to know it. Christ said to him when you were young you girded yourself and you went where you would but when you are old, you will stretch forth your arms and another will gird you and you will be carried where you do not wish to go. Now he said this to show him that he would one day die by crucifixion but then Jesus said to Peter follow me. In spite of that, follow me Peter turned back, and he saw John behind him. He said Lord what’s going to happen to John? What about him? Jesus said if it be my will that he remains until I come what is that to you? You follow me. He said the same to each and every one of us here today. He calls us to follow him and sometimes it’s costly.
A rich man came to Christ, and you know the story he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said “you know the scriptures. You know the commandments thou shalt not kill thou shalt not commit adultery thou shalt not steal that shalt not bear false witnesses.” The man said, “all of these, I’ve kept since my youth.” I’m sure Jesus must have smiled. He said, “one thing you lack. Go and sell all that you have and come and follow me.”
If you would follow Christ, you must be willing to get off the throne of your life and place him on the throne and follow him in that moment when you are willing to get off the throne and live for him as Lord, he comes into you by his spirit and he empowers you to follow him. So, he gives this call to us. Come what may in your life, follow me.
The second statement that Jesus made to Peter and to the other disciples is this. He said, “I will make you fishers of men.” He said this in the 5th chapter of Luke in the first miracle catch of fish. Peter looked at the net, full of fish, and he fell down on his face before Jesus and he said, “depart from me, I’m a sinful man.” He did not feel worthy to be in the presence of such a man who had such healing power. Jesus said to Peter, “henceforth you will be catching men.” That’s what Jesus said to all of us who believe in his name. He calls us into the world to evangelize. He calls us into the world to lead people into the Kingdom, to lead people into his flock. He calls us into the world to fish for men and women in his name. That call has been given to every one of you who believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and savior of life.
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th president of the United States. He was, of course, the Supreme Commander of the victorious union forces at the close of the civil war in 1865. He is now regarded as one of the greatest presidents of this nation’s history. He had a life with a great deal of tragedy, a great deal of sorrow, many struggles. At the close of his life, he knelt by his bed, and he asked Jesus Christ to come into his heart and to be his Lord and Savior. It’s a matter of historical record. He did that and he became a Christian. The minister who was in the room with him said “the Kingdom of God has just gained a great man” and Grant laughed. He said, “you know God doesn’t need great men, but great men need God.” He said, “I’ve got one desire in whatever time is left for me in that one desire is to tell other people about Jesus Christ and the love and the peace that he can give.”
That should be your desire if you really love Jesus Christ and you’ve decided to follow Him. Your desire should be to go forth and to tell people about Jesus Christ, to lead people into His Kingdom. Some of you in this place know Mark Moore. He’s associate pastor over at Faith Presbyterian Church. I know mark wouldn’t mind me telling you this. Mark is not known for his great preaching or teaching though I’m sure his messages have helped many people. He’s not known as a theologian. He’s not won many theological debates, but Mark loves Jesus Christ, and he loves to lead people to Jesus Christ and to share with people the love of Christ. Marked normally does hospital calls at faith. He’s worked at Faith for almost 14 years. When he had worked there for 10 years, on the anniversary of his 10th year of ministry at Faith Church, we threw a surprise party for him at the church. Hundreds and hundreds of people came into the sanctuary at Faith Church on one night. Mark was blindfolded by his daughters. Mark and his wife were led around the city of Denver. They didn’t know where they were going and finally they were led into the sanctuary, they didn’t even know where they were. We were all silent there in the sanctuary and when the blindfolds were taken from him, it was kind of a neat moment. We had a great night. But I’ll never forget the one thing that happened that night when they asked for everyone in the sanctuary to stand up who had accepted Jesus Christ as Lord, invited him into their life, into their heart, through Mark Moore would everyone stand half of the congregation rose. Hundreds of people. Mark Moore loved Jesus Christ and it was contagious. He truly is an evangelist.
I have found that most people in Christian churches believe the pastors are supposed to be evangelist. Pastors are supposed to do the work of leading people to Christ. But the truth is that Mark Moore is very unusual among pastors. Most of us as pastors were called to feed those who already believe in Christ. Most of us as pastors are called to help those who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior to grow. We have been called to nurture. You who believe in Christ have been called to go out into the world and do the work of an evangelist. You have been called to go from this place every Sunday and share the love of Christ wherever you go. You have been called to share salvation through Jesus Christ, and good news of the great gospel with people in your neighborhood, people at work, wherever you are. You must first be willing to speak. You must be willing to share. The Bible says, always be ready to give a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is within you but do it with reverence and with gentleness. You shouldn’t be obnoxious. But as the spirit leads, you should be willing to speak. And if you would be an evangelist, you must seek the power of the spirit in your life day by day that when you go forth you would have the power and the anointing of his spirit. Then, too, if you would do the work of an evangelist you must live a life that models Christ. If it’s to happen through you, it must first have happened to you. They must see that Christ is working in you.
In 1759, a man named Joseph Merlin invented roller skates. He wanted to sell them, he wanted to market them, he wanted everyone to buy roller skates. He went to a costume party at the Carlisle house at Soho square in London in 1759. He had roller skates on, and he carried a violin. He came out onto the dance floor in his roller skates, playing the violin and people were amazed a man on wills. They had never seen anything like it. There was only one problem. Joseph Merlin never really learned how to roller skate, and he didn’t have the slightest idea how to stop. He went across the floor, and he crashed into a mirror on one end of the Carlisle house. His violin was destroyed. He was badly injured and for 100 years no one roller skated. They thought it was too dangerous.
In 1863, more than 100 years later, a man named James Plimpton reinvented the roller skates and he showed that it was safe to use. In the 1870s and in the 1880s roller skating became the craze of the nation.
Now if you would communicate Christ to other people so that they want Christ, then they need to see that Christ works in you. If you’re constantly crashing, morally and ethically, if your personality, your temperament is consistently crashing before other people, then they’re not going to want Christ. But if they see the love of Christ in you, they’re going to be very open to the words you have to share. So, Jesus calls us to do the work of an evangelist to be fishers of men. We must be willing to speak, we must seek the power of his spirit and we must live a life that is exemplary, be fishers of men.
Finally, Jesus said to Peter, he said “feed my sheep.” You see it’s not enough for us as Christians to invite people into the Kingdom of Christ. It’s not enough for us to invite people to come into the flock of Christ. It’s not enough for us to do the work of an evangelist. We must also in our love for people, begin to feed them, begin to nurture them, begin to help them grow. We have this ministry to each other. Jesus said to Peter, “Simon Son of John, do you love me more than you love these?” Peter said, “yes Lord. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon son of John do you love me?” Peter said, “yes Lord you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “tend my sheep.” Jesus said to him a third time, “Simon, Son of John, do you love me?” He was grieved that he asked him a third time, do you love me. He said “Lord you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said to him “feed my sheep.”
If we love Christ, then we’re going to love people. We’re going to want to nourish people. We’re going to want to help each other grow.
A few months ago, I read an article in the newspaper telling how a little baby had been found in a trash bin behind a grocery store in an alley. The baby was alive. The mother and father had just dumped him there. They gave life to that child, but they didn’t want to love that child. They didn’t want to feed the child. They didn’t want to nurture the child. That’s a tragic thing but thousands of moms and dads do that every year in this world. It’s equally tragic when the same thing happens on a spiritual level. When people are invited to love Christ and they come to his Kingdom, and they’re born in the family of God and then suddenly they’re left alone. We don’t bother to feed them. We don’t bother to nurture them. We don’t want to take the time and the effort to love them. As Christians we are to have this ministry to each other. Feed my sheep. We are called to nourish each other period we need to grow in our knowledge of the word. We need to grow in our Christ like character. We need to grow in our skills for ministry. There are many programs, many strategies that can be used to help Christians grow, but the simple truth is this. If we would only come together in small groups and begin to love each other, growth simply takes place. Nurture begins to take place and we feed each other.
A few weeks ago, the international psychological convention met in Paris, France and they reported the results of a 30-year story. It was a study that began with graduate students at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. These graduate students had gone into a ghetto area of Baltimore, and they had found 200 kids, 200 kids around the ages 12 to 16 they were in junior high school. They had tested those 200 kids, giving them psychological tasks. They had evaluated all 200 of those kids. The graduate students at John Hopkins University concluded that within 25 years, 95% of those kids would have spent some time in jail. They were filled with hate, so filled with hostility regarding their ghetto and their impoverished life. Twenty-five years later they went back, and they looked for those 200 kids. They found 180 of them. They were amazed to find that six of them, only six of them, had ever experienced any time in jail, and 170 of them were living productive lives. They interviewed these 170 and they asked them what was the most important influence on your life? 130 of them gave the same answer. They gave the name of a woman who was at the local high school where they had all gone. So, they went to this woman, and they said what did you do that so influenced, so nurtured, so changed the lives of 130 ghetto kids? She said it wasn’t really very complex. She said, “I just love them like Jesus loves me.” Lives begin to change
As Christians, we’ve been called to love just like Jesus loves us. And if we do that, we will begin to heal each other’s wounds and will begin to feed each other and nurture each other period we’ve been called to love Christ, we’ve been called to love each other and only then the world. If we don’t love each other we have no message to the world.
This last week I was talking with a friend. He’s a Christian. His wife is a Christian. They do not go to this church. His wife has cancer. It’s a very hard time for her. Medically she has been called terminal. She has some days when she feels great and other days when she feels just horrible when she can hardly do anything. She’s almost helpless. Very hard for her right now it’s also hard for him because he loves her so much. He gets up every morning because he loves her, and he makes breakfast for the family. He goes to work; comes home during the day to see how she’s doing. He does this every day. He comes home at night, and he cooks dinner for the family. He does the dishes; he cleans the house. He does it because he loves her. Love is like that. And somehow that love is not simply meant to be expressed between a husband and a wife but between brothers and sisters in the body of Christ.
And we have established koinonias in this church for the sake of nurture, for the sake of feeding. We’re meant to come together as brothers and sisters and love each other, begin to meet each other’s needs, to help each other grow. God calls each and every one of you who believe in the name of his son to join into groups like that, so that you might feed his sheep. If you love him, feed his sheep
Jesus Christ was resurrected, and he appeared to John on the island of Patmos. He had a message for the seven churches of Asia. He said unto the Angel of the Church of Ephesus write the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands, I know your works. I know your toil. I know your patient endurance and how you cannot bear evil men but have tried those who call themselves apostles and are not and have found them to be false. I know that you are enduring patiently in bearing up for my namesake, but I have one thing against you. You have abandoned the love which you had at first period repent then and remember that from which you have fallen. If you do not repent, I will come to you and I will remove your lampstand from its place. He who has an ear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. You see nothing is more important to our Lord Jesus Christ than this. That we learn to love one another, and if we love one another, we will feed each other and heal each other’s wounds.
Jesus said by this, all men will know that you are my disciples, that you have love for one another period and so Jesus said to Peter do you love me feed my sheep.
So, we have three messages from this passage of scripture today. First of all, Christ tells us he says to us follow me. Whatever happens in life still follow me. That decision to follow Christ begins with a relinquishment of your life where you step off the throne and you ask Jesus to be your Lord and you follow him. The blast seems far outweigh the trials because he will give you joy and purpose. He will give you life, eternal life. Some of the pathways that he calls you to walk are difficult, but he still says follow me secondly he says be fishers of men. Do the work of an evangelist. Leave the church on Sunday morning and be the church in the world. Tell people in the world about the love of Jesus Christ that they, too, might come into the flock. And finally, Jesus Christ says, “feed My sheep. If you love Me feed My sheep.” Shall we pray?